Water-heating means



29, 1952 G. STANLEY 2,604,880

WATER-HEATING MEANS Filed Dec. 3, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET l FIG I lrlVl?/Ol"Gordon 6km July 29, 1952 G. STANLEY WATER-HEATING MEANS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2Filed Dec. 3, 1949 have/21W:

Gordon Stanley Patented July 29, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- V2,604,880- g V WAT ER -HEATING' MEANS Gordon Stanley,-Brandon, Manitoba,Canada Q Application December 3, 1949, Serial No. 131,020

1 My invention relates to new anduseful improvements in water heatingmeans, an object of my invention being to provide a device of thecharacter herewithin described whereby the heat from. the flue gases ofa conventional furnace may be utilized to heat the water contained-Within a conventional water heating tank;

' A further object of my inventionis to provide a device of thecharacter herewithin described device of the character herewithindescribed whereby the source of thermal energy from the firebox gives aconcentrated heat to the water within the tank, and isparticularlyuseful under conditions of relatively heavy hot water usagesuch as on washdays or the like. v

A still further object of my invention is to pro:- vide a device of thecharacter herewithindescribed-which is completely self-contained,- andin which the flue connections from the firebox pass through thewatercontained within the tank to the main flue-pipe section.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterherewithin described which is economical in manufacture, simple inconstruction, and otherwise Well suited for the purpose for which'it isdesigned. v v With the foregoing" objects in View, andisuchother'objects and. advantages as will become apparent to those skilledin the art to which this invention relates as this specificationproceeds, my invention consists essentially in the arrangement andconstruction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described,reference being bad to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a conventional water heating tank withone embodiment of my device in situ.

Figure 2 is a view at right angles to Figure 1 sectioned in part alongthe lines 2-2 to show the interior thereof.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a conventional water heating tank withan alternative embodi ment of my device in situ.

1 Claim. (Cl. 122130) longitudinal axis of the pipe section 6:

' Figurel is a view at right angles to Figure 3 sectioned in part toshow the interior thereof.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the different figures. The combustion gases from a conventionalfurnace or heating unit normally discharge a relatively high degree ofheat into the atmosphere. This represents a considerable waste of fuel,consequently, I have utilized the heat contained within these gases toassist or replace the conventional electric immersion heater normallyfound in a water heating tank.

Proceeding therefore to describe my invention in detail, it will be seenupon reference to the accompanying drawings that I have illustrated aconventional vertical cylindrical Water heating tank I containing anelectric immersion heater 2 towards the base 3 thereof and showing theinlet and outlet connections 4 on the top 5 of the tank. A horizontallydisposed v cylindrical flue-pipe section 6 extends transversely throughthe tank I "being sealably connected to the walls thereof by-means ofwelding-or the like. Theflue-pipe section 6 extends beyond the walls ofthe tank I to form the attaching portions 1, one of which is connectedto the flue-pipe extending from the furnace (not illustrated), the otherbeing connected via a suitable length of flue-pipe to the smoke stacks(not illustrated).

I have provided a pair of open-ended water passes 8 in right angularrelationship to the These passes extend diametrically through the pipesection 6 and permit free circulation of water withinvthe tank I.

In operation the heated combustion gases pass through the flue-pipesection 6 which is surrounded by water within the tank I. Theaforementioned water passes 8 provide a smoke bafliing configuration tothe interior surface 9 of the pipe section 6 which increases the Britishthermal unit transfer from the smoke and gases within the pipe section Bto the Water immediately surrounding same and flowing through the passes8. ing the heat transmitting surface of the pipe section 6, thus givingit a transmitting surface of greater area per linear foot than aconventional flue-pipe of similar dimensions.

The heat extracted from the combustion gases and smoke passing throughthe pipe section 6 is transferred to the water immediately surroundingthe pipe section and passing through the water passes 8, which sets up anorma1 circulation thus bringing cooler water into contact with Thesepasses have the effect of increassection I5 extends transversely throughthe tank In being sealably connected to the walls thereof ashereinbefore described in the previous embodiment of my device. Thesection I5 also extends beyond the walls of the tank II] to form theattaching portions I6 for connection to a conventional stack I6extending from the furnace and to the smoke stack (both of which are notillustrated) In this embodiment I have shown four open ended waterpasses I! in right angular relationship to the longitudinal axis of thepipe section I5 and it will be noted that in this embodiment, the passesI! extend diametrically throu h the section I5 being horizontal with thebase I2 of the tank and communicating with the interior thereof thuspermitting free circulation of water therethrough.

A source of thermal energy is provided in the form of a relatively smallfirebox I8 enclosed by a cylindrical casing 59 and containing grate bars20, a fire door 2| and a source of draft 22, all of which areconventional in design.

The upper surface 23 of the firebox I8 is apertur-ed to receive the basenot the tank lfl, an annular flange 24 being welded orotherwise securedadjacent the base I2 and adapted to rest upon the upper surface 23 ofthe firebox I8, thus sealably enclosing the downwardly projecting baseI2 therewithin. v r

I- have provided four vertical fire-tubes 25 situated within the tank Inand communicating with the firebox I8 at the lower end 26 thereof andwith the interior surface 21 of the aforementioned flue-pipe section I5at the opposite ends thereof. In this connection it will be noted thatthe aforementioned passes I1 are situated substantially in alignmentwith the connection between the fire-tubes 25 and the section I5 inorder to assist in the heat transference rom the combustion gases.

Inoperation, combustion gases passing from the conventional furnace flowthrough the section I5 which is surrounded by water within the tank I0,the water passes II providing smoke bafiiing configurations to theinterior surface 21 of the section I5 and acting in a similar manner tothe passes 8 hereinbefore described.

If it is desired to augment the heating capacity of the combustion gasesor if it is desired to heat 4 the water in the tank without recourse tothe conventional furnace, then the firebox l8 may be fired in theconventional manner, the combustion gases passing upwardly through theaforementioned fire-tubes 25 to the aforementioned pipe section I5, heatbeing transferred to the water within the tank from the base I2 of thetank, from the heated fire-tubes 25 as well as from thefiue-pipesectionI5.

In this connection I have provided a safety valve 28 within the tube end[4 of the tank in I order to relieve excess pressure in case theintensity of the heat is greater than a predeter- -mined figure.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as hereinabovedescribed, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same madewithin the spirit and scope of the claim without departing from suchspirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in theaccompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only andnot in a limiting sense.

vWhat I claim as my invention is:

In combination, a vertical cylindrical water heating tank and ahorizontally disposed cylindrical water-immersed flue-pipe sectionadjacently connectedto a conventional stack, said pipe sectioncompletely traversing said tank and having at least one open-ended waterpass extending through said section at right angles to the axis of saidpipe section for increasing the heat transferring area thereof, saidwater pass also acting as smoke battling means within said section toincrease the British thermal unit transfer from smoke within saidsection to water surrounding the same, and at least one vertical,water-immersed, fire-tube extending between said pipe section and asource of thermal energy therebelow, said fire-tube communicating withthe interior of said pipe section.

GORDON STANLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

